Prevailing over the Paradox of Personalization

Now think about where your parents – or grandparents – got theirs. The answers are likely very different. My parents watched the local TV evening news, followed by a national broadcast. Each morning, my dad brought in the Charleston Post & Courier from our driveway. The Sunday morning edition was a particular treat, calling for at least an hour of reading and a cup of coffee. Today, I continue that one part of the tradition my parents set – although for me, the Sunday New York Times is the paper of choice, which in turn calls for significantly more coffee.

Among my friends and co-workers, even the reading of a Sunday newspaper – made of paper – makes me a bit of an anomaly. With the explosion of digital mediums and channels, along with the increasing time we all spend on social networks and in front of a screen (laptop, tablet or smartphone), where, how and from what source we get our news has undergone a tectonic shift.

On the surface, this should be a great thing. We have the world at our fingertips. The availability of news and information should be making us more informed. But is it? The flip side of this wealth of information includes digital overload, leading many to curb the influx of information by narrowing our sources. Facebook friends, RSS feeds and even our own Google searches can limit our exposure to news and views unlike our own. And in this era of extreme content customization, efforts to manage the clutter may be preventing your audience from hearing your story.

In our latest white paper, we take a look at the “Paradox of Personalization,” (.pdf) how these factors can play into the reach and impact of information reaching the public, and the implications for the PR and marketing efforts of companies and organizations.

Take a look, and let us know: do you feel better informed because of the instant access to news and information, or is personalization limiting your exposure to messages you might otherwise have heard?

Oh, no, it worked before, they must have caught on to this. Well,the link before is not as good, but it still shows the driver turning and shooting him, if you watch it very very carefully you can still see the smoke out of the gun up by the driver.

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